AISA AA CHAMPIONSHIP: Autauga Academy finishes undefeated to win state title
A.J. Perry hoist the championship trophy won by Autauga Academy on Monday in the AISA AA championship. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
The last step was the hardest.
Autauga coach William Turner had been here before as an assistant boys’ basketball coach. Now, in his first year as the Generals’ head coach, he couldn’t help but be nervous as Autauga had reached the Class AA finals again.
He talked with football coach Bobby Carr the night before the game, just to calm his nerves. Don’t be nervous, he was told. Approach it like any other game.
That was impossible, Turner and his players learned on Monday in the Alabama Independent School Association state tournament at the Multiplex. After all, it was a championship game.
“We weren’t hitting shots at all,” Turner said. “(Leading scorer) Rob (Rose) was a little tight coming in. A bunch of our players were. I feel like a lot of times this year people felt like I was bringing a gun to a knife fight, but you’ve got to understand it’s still a fight and you can lose the knife fight with a gun real quick. We’re fortunate to get out of this season 18-0.”
Autauga did, weathering some early anxious moments with a steady offensive production and enough defense to hold off Chambers Academy 51-43 to follow up on the undefeated football season that ended with a state championship.
“As an assistant (at Autauga), I’ve been to the final four five times and it’s nice to finally get one,” Turner said. “I’m as ecstatic as I can be and I hope this is the beginning of a snowball effect for winning these things every time.”
It was the Generals’ first state title in boys’ basketball since 2008, but the early moments were a little shaky. Chambers took a lead late in the first half as the Generals struggled to hit any shots. Suddenly, AJ Perry hit back-to-back 3 pointers to put the Generals back in control.
“I think that was the big momentum shift,” Turner said. “They’re up 10-6, he hits two 3s and it’s 12-10 and I don’t think we relinquished the lead for the remainder of the game. Those two shots were huge.”
It was the only shots the senior would hit in the first three quarters (he added another in the fourth to finish with eight points), but it seemed to have a calming effect on his teammates. The jitters were gone, the Generals went back to playing their brand of basketball and while they were often challenged by the Rebels over the final 24 minutes, they always seemed to have an answer to stay in control.
“I’m glad my teammates trust me to knock down those shots,” Perry said. “It’s just second nature. I knew my team needed it and I’m glad I stepped up to knock down those 3s.
Rose overcame a poor shooting first half to finish with 16 points and three assists, while senior Pharrell Banks contributed 12 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals. Junior forward Josh Palmer added 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Generals fought back several attempts by the Rebels to regain the lead over the course of the game.
“We had to go back to playing our style of play and not play their style,” Perry said. “We had to come back to reality and go back out and do what we’re supposed to do.”
Armed with a double-digit lead for much of the fourth quarter, the Generals could finally relax and claim another state title. For many like Palmer, Banks and Rose, Monday’s win completed a 31-0 run in football and basketball that ended with two state championships.
“It’s really a goal ever since last year to come back and bring it home, especially for the seniors like myself,” Perry said. “We had a goal and we worked hard every day in practice, every game. And at the end of the day, we did what we had to do to pull out the win.”
Cayden Hayley led Chambers with 21 points.
Making the all-tournament team were Rose, Palmer and Banks of Autauga, along with Hayley and Jordan Whaley of Chambers.